Employee Safety Concerns – Ashley’s Story
Knight Protection Services, LLC was initially created to assist homeowners with protecting their home, their family and their assets. As we began working with more and more residential clients, one of them asked if we would be willing to consult with her property management at the building where she works.
Our client, “Ashley”, began telling us her concerns when she was going into the office.
“It usually starts first thing in the morning when I get to work before anyone else. There is a detached parking deck that I park in and then I walk to the stairwell, down to the bottom level and over to the lobby. When I walk sometimes I feel uneasy, almost like I’m being watched.
“There are sometimes other cars around, but most of the time the parking deck is empty. I also know that the property management has an unarmed security guard that works on the premises and should be walking through the parking deck to maintain security. I have never seen the security guard early in the morning and also while I walk, every other light is out or flickering and there aren’t any cameras except near the stairwells.”
As she spoke, I recognized that this led to her discomfort because not only is no one watching the majority of the parking deck, security isn’t walking through the parking deck and the dark areas cause spots where she can’t really tell if anyone is there.
She mentioned that this happens quite often which has caused her to dictate her hours around when more employees are already there or when the sun is out, so the parking deck is well lit. The more she told me, the more I was amazed with her daily struggle. At this point, she hadn’t even made it in the building yet!
This is a huge negative impact on an employee that is obviously showing that she wants to excel, wants to be a top contributor and loves what she is doing.
Next, she began describing what it was like as she arrived inside the building.
“Then as I walk into the lobby I’m never greeted by the security staff, and I never see the doors locked. Can it really be that easy to get in the building? Somehow, the security staff always have their face buried into the console or their phone. This is frustrating because it’s always the same. I don’t care if they say hello, I’m just worried about who could just waltz right into the building without being stopped.
“I see that the building usually does well with the access control on the elevators and I like that my floor is locked down. But there’s a really friendly girl that works on the 7th floor who always badges a stranger on to her floor. I don’t understand why you would just assume that person is supposed to be there if the floor is locked down. Is that the standard practice for everyone in the building?
“My floor has limited access and clients have to be badged up the elevator. But sometimes I see that the stairwell door gets propped open overnight sometimes, maybe from the cleaning staff? I don’t know who props the “secure” doors open.”
Much of what Ashley told me I have seen time and time again. Too often, different employees and clients will get complacent in the assumed safety at work. Letting a stranger on another floor might be polite, but maybe it was never explained to that nice lady on the 7th floor that it isn’t safe to assume they belong there.
Similarly, you may recognize the person, but they forgot their badge, so you help them out this one time. What they don’t mention is their ill intentions after being fired and removed from the property last week.
Speak To Your Property Management
Ashley went to the property management and voiced her concern about everything she told me about. Their response was great! They saw the value in bringing in an outside, objective opinion to complete an audit of their security protocols and operations.
When they hired us, we did just that. We took an in- depth look at the security measures they had emplaced from the curb all the way to the c-suite. We looked at what the security team was or wasn’t doing. We looked at their employee handbook, their tenant handbook and their security handbook.
We found several vulnerabilities that could lead to terrible PR and an unaffordable lawsuit. They wanted to show each of their valued clients that they took the proactive measures to make sure if you came to their property, you were safe and well protected.
Security Audits Protect Your Assets
Our security audits will help you, the responsible party, show that you weren’t negligent in caring for your employees, clients and visitors. You brought in an objective mind that looked at your protocols, practices and daily operations. Taking the proactive steps that we will recommend will help provide peace of mind to all the people visiting your property and help you have peace of mind knowing you have done everything you could to keep them safe.
If you are an employee and need assistance with approaching your Property Manager regarding safety concerns, please call Knight Protections Services, LLC at (404) 771-9368.
